Shirkuh

Shirkuh (1109-22 March 1169) was the Vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate from January to March 1169, succeeding Shawar and preceding Saladin. Shirkuh was a general of the Zengids under Nur ad-Din, and he was sent to invade Egypt three times to intervene in the politcs of the falling Fatimid Caliphate, and he had to deal with the untrustworthy vizier Shawar, whom he executed in 1169 after fighting against him thrice and allying with him once. Shirkuh died of obesity shortly after becoming vizier, and Saladin succeeded him.

Biography
Shirkuh was born in 1109 in a Kurdish village near Dvin, Armenia to a Muslim family. He was the son of Kurdish ruler Shadhi ibn Marwan and the brother of Najm ad-Din,  and the fall of the Shaddadid dynasty led to the family moving to Tikrit, Iraq, where Shirkuh became the regional governor. In 1138, he was exiled from Tikrit after murdering a Christian during an argument, and he served in Zengi's army, later serving his son Nur ad-Din Zengi. Shirkuh was given Homs and ar-Rahba as his appendages, and he served as Marzoban of Homs under the Zengids.

Invasions of Egypt
Shirkuh served as governor of Baalbek and Damascus, the latter after its 1154 surrender to the Zengids, and in 1163 Nur ad-Din sent his trusted general Shirkuh to help the Fatimid Caliphate's vizier Shawar against the rival vizier Dirgham. His nephew Saladin accompanied him on his first invasion of Egypt, and Dirgham was killed and Shawar restored. However, Shawar allied with Amalric I of Jerusalem against Shirkuh after quarreling with him, and Shirkuh was besieged at Bilbeis. Nur ad-Din then launched an assault against the crusader states, nearly taking Antioch, and the crusaders were forced to retreat in 1164. Shirkuh was invited back to Egypt in 1167 by Caliph al-Adid to help him in repelling the invading crusaders, and Shawar allied with the Kingdom of Jerusalem once more. However, Shawar was forced to ally with Shirkuh when Amalric allied with the Byzantine Empire and showed no intention of abandoning the crusader garrisons in Egypt. In January 1169, Shirkuh entered Cairo and had the untrustworthy Shawar executed, becoming Vizier. However, his great eating of rich meats and his obesity led to his death in March 1169, and Saladin became the new vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate.